Month: June 2015

Two heavy-duty reports came out recently, both relevant to the PP though from very different angles. First a commission set up by the Resolution Foundation to look at the attempts to introduce Universal Credit produced its final report, Making the most of UC. Mainly this grapples with the incredibly complex issues posed by the attempt to simplify the benefits system through Universal Credit. I'd blow several gaskets if I even attempted to summarise it here, but one of the central issues is how to enable people work at lower levels to earn more, and to keep more of their earnings. The current system often traps people in low-earning jobs,…

I went recently to a presentation by Lorna Unwin and Alison Fuller, from the LLAKES centre, of their very informative work on adult apprenticeships, in the lovely Bedford Square offices of the Nuffield Foundation (one of our most effective foundations). In the pre-election period there was a rather ludicrous bidding war between the parties on how many apprenticeships they could promise. We've ended up with 3 million. 'Apprenticeship' has a good solid ring to it, which is why the parties jumped on it. It implies work-relevance, application, skill and good employment prospects. The problem is that it is now used very broadly, so broadly that it is losing that solidity…

Two heavy-duty reports came out recently, both relevant to the PP though from very different angles. First a commission set up by the Resolution Foundation to look at the attempts to introduce Universal Credit produced its final report, Making the most of UC. Mainly this grapples with the incredibly complex issues posed by the attempt to simplify the benefits system through Universal Credit. I'd blow several gaskets if I even attempted to summarise it here, but one of the central issues is how to enable people work at lower levels to earn more, and to keep more of their earnings. The current system often traps people in low-earning jobs,…

I went recently to a presentation by Lorna Unwin and Alison Fuller, from the LLAKES centre, of their very informative work on adult apprenticeships, in the lovely Bedford Square offices of the Nuffield Foundation (one of our most effective foundations). In the pre-election period there was a rather ludicrous bidding war between the parties on how many apprenticeships they could promise. We've ended up with 3 million. 'Apprenticeship' has a good solid ring to it, which is why the parties jumped on it. It implies work-relevance, application, skill and good employment prospects. The problem is that it is now used very broadly, so broadly that it is losing that solidity…